


How Far Would You Go

by WyattShepard



Series: Dungeons and Dragons [11]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 02:35:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16714936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WyattShepard/pseuds/WyattShepard





	1. The Girl With Nothing Left

            Katas looked out over the line of enemy forces that had gathered to siege his home. Rows upon rows of demons and devils sat opposite of Kiotas, and he knew that holding the inner city would be impossible; there was just too large a gap between his forces and theirs. For some reason he found himself remembering his time in the military. This was all something he had seen before, though he never thought it would be _his_ city that would be threatened. He took a deep breath of the cool night air and held it, turning his axe over and burying the head in the soft dirt. He was sure that there would be some silver in his hair by the end of this.

            “That’s a lot of demons that came here to die,” Kio comments as she steps next to him. She is wearing her armored ceremonial robe, two small shoulder pauldrons, and was resting her arm on the hilt of her katana. Her strawberry-colored hair was tied back into a ponytail; Her mouth was crooked with a smirk and her eyebrow raised when Katas didn’t respond to her and turned back to the line of enemies.

            “Kio, the evacuation order-”

            “Doesn’t include me,” She cut him off, “you should have known that.” She closed her eyes as she stretched lazily as a cat would in the warm afternoon sun.

            “I did, and still know it,” he said with a small amount of humor in his voice. His face suddenly warped into one of both conviction and despair.

            “I also know that you won’t thank me for this,” He said, the grief in his voice causing her to open her eyes. He finished drawing the symbol in front of her with his magic and it flashed once before disappearing. She saw his eyes shimmer with something but couldn’t put her finger on the emotion there.

            “I haven’t seen you use that spell. What’s it-” Kio dropped like a sack of rocks, Katas effortlessly stepping over to catch her. He leaned down to kiss her forehead and turned to the city’s main gate.

            “Knight-Sergeant,” He called, his voice now hardened metal, steel slamming up his spine. Two of his paladins, Johnson and James came jogging up to him.

            “Almost done sir, we only have the town guard and a couple kids before everyone is evacuated,” The larger of the two reported. He was nowhere near Katas’ height as he stood about 5 inches above Johnson, but both men met the other’s eyes for a moment.

            “Take her. She will be sleeping for at least eight or nine hours, so you’ll have plenty of time to get away from here,” Katas commanded as he carefully handed the man the thing most important to him. Johnson took Kio and looked back with increasing horror.

            “Knight-Commander, you can’t fight them alone sir. At least let us assist you and one of the guardsmen can take her,” He pleaded, momentarily caught off guard when Katas chuckled lowly.

            “It will take both of you to keep Kio from rushing back here the moment she wakes up. That’s not a joke, it will, soldier,” He added grimly as he turned and placed himself between them and the ever-increasing line of demons. When Katas spoke, they could all clearly hear the catch in his voice.

            “Go. Now,” He said, leaving no room for any more discussion. They both recognized the overbearing feeling of Katas’ magic as dark orange vapor began to drift lazily off the man’s armor. Once he was certain that they were both out of earshot he chuckled quietly to himself, closing his eyes.

            “Be free and live, Rabbit,” He whispered as tears cut trails down his cheeks. When he opened those steel-colored eyes he saw the line of demons surge forwards.

            “In the end,” He said, stepping to dodge a fireball.

            “Lies…” The axe came down hard on the head of the first demon.

            “Glory!” He followed through with his momentum and ripped the axe-blade from the demon’s skull, starting the dance of battle.

\----

            Kio slowly opened her eyes and then lunged forwards, nearly slamming her head on a shelf above the bed. Daylight streamed in from the window beside her, and she bared her teeth and all but snarled as a man in doctor’s robes glanced over at her.

            “WHAT THE FUCK DID HE DO, WHERE AM I?” Something about her scream had to have sounded feral, she thought, watching the robed man nearly collapse on the floor when he scrambled backwards.

She felt cold.

            Johnson nearly fell from where he was sitting a couple feet away, leaning back on a wooden chair and balancing on the back legs. She turned her wide-eyed glare from him to his partner. James maybe was his name, she couldn’t remember right now and didn’t care. She locked her eyes to his until he visibly flinched.

            “Steady Kio,” Johnson kept his voice low, the whole scene reminding her of when she had tried to tame a wild dog that she and Katas had found while travelling once. Her rage swelled even higher somehow.

            “What. Did he. Do,” She forced through her clenched teeth, pausing after the words but never taking her eyes from him. She knew that he was still a recruit, at least the newest paladin; he would snap like a twig.

            “The Knight-Commander ordered us to take you and evacuate the rest of the civies. He bought us time to get you and the rest of the-” Kio launched into the air and slammed her knee against the paladin’s face; Johnson stumbled back and cried out in surprise. She landed lightly on her toes in front of him and turned away from the two shocked knights.

            “That was for leaving him there alone,” She informed him idly while she was collecting her things from around the small room.

            “Uh, Ma’am I can’t let you go back to Kiotas,” Johnson mumbled behind his nose, which from the sound of it was very broken. She went very still, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the two.

            “Am I to understand that you think you can stop me, Knight,” Her words were thick with the Totoi accent, dripping with the challenge that one of them speak up.

            “Knight-Captain… Miss Kio, please understand that we are only following the Knight-Commander’s orders,” James timidly said, a pathetic attempt at taking a stand, as far as Kio was concerned; The white-knuckled grip on her blade didn’t change.

            “You two are good soldiers,” She commented sadly, the turn in her voice so sudden they nearly didn’t hear her, “You’re both good men. Don’t make me fight you over this, not today.” They exchanged a look before James turned back to Kio and nodded once, stood aside and saluted her.

            “Captain,” Johnson grunted after he saluted as well, “If you need us…” He let it trail off, not thinking he needed to finish it. The three of them knew what he meant. Kio smiled, but they all knew it was too small, too brittle. She finished getting dressed, slung the backpack James had prepared over her shoulder, and finally walked through the door. She wasn’t surprised to find herself in Peddleton when she left the clinic, the two City-States had often traded with one another and she was sure Katas had met with King Brik on more than one occasion.

            “That’s it,” She suddenly exclaimed, making one of the town guard glance in her direction worriedly. She quickened her pace for Peddleton Castle.

\----

            “Ah, Mistress Kio it is a pleasure to see you again,” the butler greeted her as the guards opened the main doors for her. She nodded her thanks to them and turned to the butler but before she could respond to him a great voice boomed from the other side of the room.

            “Kio, I’m so glad you’re awake! I knew that your fighting spirit would stay strong!” She knew the thundering voice belonged to Brik and sure enough he landed in front of her loudly, completely blocking view of the butler. His hair had been cut since they last met and was now much shorter and resembled Katas’ military length. He still towered over her, easily over six feet tall and looked as if he could lift a house. It still surprised her how very unlike royalty Brik was. He crouched down so they could talk. Appearing from around the massive man was Queen May, her hair just as red as Kio remembered it, much more auburn then Kio’s own strawberry colored locks.

            “So where is the big one, Katas,” Brik asked, his smile slipped from his face then. Her own expression must have been grim, she suspected, as May slowly approached and laid a hand on her arm.

            “I thought he would be here since he wasn’t with me when I woke up,” Kio responded in a voice that was too tiny to be hers, like she was afraid she’d break if she made it any louder. Brik’s normally carefree expression darkened to what Kio suspected was the mask he used during the last Great War.

            “I’ve sent scouts but, they couldn’t get very close,” He told her, his voice too steady to be anything but carefully controlled. Kio fought the urge to scream; she felt trapped, like a bird in a cage. The world around her started closing in.

            She couldn’t breathe.

            They were all looking at her, worried. She didn’t know why though.

            She couldn’t breathe.

The room began to feel like it was spinning wildly.

            She couldn’t breathe.

            “Dear?” May’s voice was gentle but urgent.

            “I have to go,” Kio almost mumbled under her breath as she turned suddenly and nearly ran from the castle. She ran and ran until her legs hurt from it, begged her to stop. She knew where her goal was, and that was in Kiotas, still very far to the south. By the time her legs gave way and she collapsed the sun was setting. She just laid there for a couple minutes gasping for breath and listened to what she thought sounded a lot like horses.

            “What in the hells,” she mumbled, glancing up as two figures approached on horseback. She willed herself to stand, but there wasn’t much left of her strength; She settled for struggling in vain instead.

            “Captain, don’t fight me just, get on the damn horse,” The larger one said, picking her up and setting her on his horse. Kio stopped resisting and looked at them both a second time. Johnson and James both looked at her expectantly.

            “You don’t have to say anything, just get going, find the Commander, will you,” Johnson said, giving her one of his sideways grins. Kio just nodded to them and turned back towards Kiotas and spurred the horse forwards.

\----

            When she did finally cross the border from Peddleton-controlled lands into Kiotas-controlled lands the sun had already been set for about an hour.

            _I swear you fucking idiot if you died…_ She shook her head violently to throw the tears that were holding onto the sides of her eyes away, when that failed she quickly brushed them off with the back of her hand.

            _No, I know he is alive. He wouldn’t do this to me, he wouldn’t leave me alone after all of this._ She reasoned with herself.

The horse slowed as Kio reached the black metal of the outer wall and she tied it to a piece of metal that was sticking sideways out of the ground. The rest of the wall looked as if it had been blown outwards from a giant explosion; Kio had to cover her nose to keep the smell of fire and copper from overpowering her as she peered around the corner. Inside the center of the city’s marketplace hordes of demons lay strewn across the ground, piled on top of each other in a bloody heap that all lead to a single corpse. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for the young woman; Kio had to fight to keep from vomiting as she recognized Katas’ armor and started sprinting. As she approached, she noticed his great axe imbedded in the head of a bearded devil beside the Paladin’s body. She threw herself over him like a blanket; his armor, bloodied and broken in more than one place, cold against her bare skin. There was a large hole in his chest which Kio could easily see through if she looked. She didn’t.

“No… You can’t…” Kio desperately cried out, her words echoing around the now silent marketplace. Tears freely flowed from her emerald-green eyes down the sides of her face, leaving two small pinpricks on his armor that left a trail in the soot. His face was covered in the same soot as his armor and his black hair was similarly filthy, but other than that was unchanged. She brushed her hand across his cheek slowly and found it to be cold as ice and recoiled as if his skin had stung her. The moon finally peeked out from behind the clouds,

            “How could you,” Kio had to stop as she started sobbing, taking a couple moments to regain the ability to speak. Each sob wracked her tiny frame, the choking noise of her trying to suppress the sounds echoed around the metal and stone walls and only served to make them louder.

“It was my right to die beside you, what gives you the right to steal that from me? To play hero,” She screamed out, balling her fist and banging it into the cobblestone beside him. She could feel her nails digging into the palm of her hand, drawing blood, but she didn’t care. Her breathing was coming only as ragged sobs between the words.

“Just to leave me here alone… With nothing at all?! WHY DID YOU THINK I WOULD WANT TO LIVE ON WITHOUT YOU BY MY SIDE?! WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE ME IN THIS CURSED, TWISTED NIGHTMARE?!” Each word coming out raw with emotion, and at the top of her lungs until her throat burned from them. She beat her fist onto the cobblestone until she couldn’t feel it anymore, and a little after that, but eventually collapsed over him. She reached only halfway up his chest but she clung to it tightly as if she would fly away.

“I have nothing without you…” Her words now so soft compared to the others, they were but a whisper that was carried away on the wind.

\----

The sun just began to peek over the horizon, bringing with it the cold chill of morning. Brik looked out across the destroyed city from where he sat on horseback.

“Father,” yelled out a female voice further ahead. The king glanced towards it and spotted his daughter waving him over. She had inherited his black hair and her mother’s blue eyes.

“What have you found, Isabella,” He yelled back as he snapped the reins and urged his horse forwards.

She was sitting on her horse beside the giant hole in the wall. She dismounted as he approached and patted the side of Kio’s horse.

“Girl can’t have gotten far, this is the steed we gave to one of her knights isn’t it,” Isabella asked. Brik nodded as he stepped down from his horse and led it around the edge of the hole.

“Gods…” She heard her father gasp under his breath. She jogged over to him and was stunned for a moment as well, the sheer carnage of it all was astounding. It was then they both noticed the small form huddled over the only human corpse in the area.

“Kio,” Isabella called out, starting to run for her.

The corpses around Katas looked as if they had been moved, the circle that formed around him didn’t look like natural battle to Brik. He felt fear well up inside him as Kio rose from her huddled form and drew her katana effortlessly, the tip ending about a foot from Isabella’s throat. The girl managed to skid to a stop before that tip was driven into her windpipe. Kio’s eyes were vacant, like she wasn’t even there. She blinked and shook her head, startled, looking like she had just noticed them. The katana lowered, the tip scraping against the ground.

“Ah, Isabella. It’s good to see you again,” Kio said, her voice empty. Her throat hurt, and trails had been carved down her cheeks from her tears. Brik approached and put his hand on Isabella’s shoulder.

“He died as a warrior, fighting to protect what he valued most,” Brik told her, a look of respect crossing his features.

“A good enough death,” Isabella agreed. Kio sheathed her katana.

“There’s no such thing as a ‘good death’, and I’m tired of telling myself otherwise,” Kio growled to no one in particular. Kio’s eyes suddenly lit up as she turned to the pair.

“Is May with you? I need to ask a favor of May,” She suddenly blurted out, her eyes pleading.

“She’s watching the castle, I’ve been told that I shouldn’t leave it unattended,” Brik answered, scratching the side of his head, “why?”

“I need to ask her for a favor. She still practices magic right,” Kio asked, already making a move to her horse. Brik and Isabella shared a confused glance.

“She doesn’t practice necromancy, if that’s your intent,” Isabella answered cautiously. Kio quickly shook her head.

“Just try to keep up,” She answered as she led her horse over to Katas’ body.

\----

Kio burst through the doors of Peddleton Castle before the guards could even salute their returning King. May looked over at them, startled, but smiled.

“May, I need to ask you a favor,” Kio blurted. The knight that May had been talking to fixed her with a cross look.

“You will address Her majesty as such,” He began before May silenced him with a raised hand. He quickly saluted and turned to go about his duties, so he didn’t see Kio stick out her tongue as he left.

“What do you need dear,” May asked. She could see the signs of heartbreak written across Kio’s face, and the Queen could probably guess that Kio hadn’t slept much if the dark rings underneath her eyes were any indication.

“I need you to teleport me to Paav, I’m going to see Adaar,” Kio responded. She watched the Queen go unnaturally still, the only sign that something wasn’t wrong being May’s quick intake of breath.

“Last I heard Adaar was something of a dangerous man, are you sure you want to seek out that danger,” May asked searching Kio’s eyes for a moment. The smaller woman met her gaze with one of her own.

“I know he will be able to do something for Katas. He knows a lot about magic, so even if he can’t he will know someone or something that can,” Kio said. None of it brought May any comfort. She slowly nodded before looking over to one of the butlers.

“Go fetch Mason, will you? I will need his help with this,” She asked, taking her overcoat off and tossing it to another one of the servants.

“Now, do you have anything of Adaar’s that I can use as a focus? The more personal the better,” May asked, turning back to Kio. The smaller woman thought for a moment before she started digging around in her pack and produced a single emerald-green feather.

“He said that if we ever needed to reach him to use this,” Kio said offering her the feather plume. May took it and turned it over in her hands, admiring the way the colors shifted as if in a light breeze.

Mason joined them before too long and they set to work. It took around ten minutes before Kio noticed anything, but even someone as numb to magic as Kio could feel the change. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as they worked; The magic in the room became so tangible at one point that Kio could almost reach out and touch it.

“Kio,” May yelled over the rushing sound of magic, her voice strained with concentration, “What if Adaar doesn’t help you?”

Kio responded with a smile that was too brittle for her pretty features, tears carving fresh trails down her cheeks.

“Then bury Katas on the hill overlooking Kiotas. If he doesn’t help me, he’ll have to kill me,” Kio said, right before the magic swelled and engulfed her, and she disappeared. There was an immediate silence that fell over the throne room. May dropped to the floor like a sack of rocks and Mason stumbled backwards as well, bringing his fingers to find his nose bleeding.

“Oh,” he mumbled to himself before it all went black.

\----

“Alright students, pencils down the exam is now over,” Adaar called out, glancing over the room. His blue-green eyes met Garuda where she stood on the other side of the room and he nodded to her. She towered over everyone in the room, easily reaching eight or nine feet tall. Emerald-green feathers lined the sides of her face and breasts trailing down to her waist. Her slim fingers ended in sharp talons and her pupils were catlike and golden; instead of white surrounding the pupils of her eyes there was black. She also had a pair of large wings folded against her back lined with the same emerald-green feathers. Adaar by comparison was very plain: he wore a button-up collared shirt and dark-brown blazer with slacks, a pair of glasses with circular rims perched on the bridge of his nose completed the ensemble.

 _I didn’t notice any of them ‘cheating’_ Garuda told him through their telepathic link, putting emphasis on the last word as if she wasn’t entirely sure how to pronounce it. Adaar nodded, content with the results, and started collecting their work. He stopped once he got to the desk of a young blonde student, only a couple years younger than himself. The sunlight shone in through the windows of the university classroom and reflected off his glasses for a moment as he looked over her exam.

“Well done, Miss Carver as always,” Adaar commented, giving her a smile. The girl blushed in response. He finished collecting the exams and returned to his desk, tapping the papers on the rosewood to straighten them.

“Now the next chapter we will be focusing on is Eidolon control, I know many of you have been waiting for this one so let’s just-” He stopped mid-sentence as he felt the hair on his neck stand on end. Garuda was by his side in an instant, having felt the same sensation: magical discharge. They both snapped their heads towards the door to the classroom as a bright-blue light flared on the other side of it and faded just as quickly. The door was kicked open, a short girl with pink hair standing there, sparking with wild magical energy.

“Someone needs more practice with teleportation,” Adaar mumbled to himself. Then he noticed who she was underneath all the dirt and tears and grime.

“Garuda watch the class, I’ll be back,” He said, darting over to the girl and escorting her out. The Eidolon nodded and waited until they were gone to narrow her eyes at two of the students in the back who had thrown a paper airplane.

\----

Kio sat at the table of the coffee shop, having been bribed by Adaar into taking a shower in exchange for hot chocolate. The summoner came back to their table and offered her a steaming mug topped with whipped cream.

“Here, as promised,” He said, taking the opposite seat and sipping on his own coffee. When he had sat his cup down, she had emptied hers and set it down on the table. He blinked several times before shrugging and taking another sip.

“So, now that we have you more or less taken care of, what do you need,” Adaar asked, pushing up his glasses as he gazed over at her through them. He saw a little of the pain from earlier return to her.

“Katas is dead.”

The mage choked on his coffee.

“How, what happened,” He asked once he had regained his composure. Kio shrugged.

“He went off to play hero. Kiotas was attacked by demons, we still aren’t sure who yet, but I have knights looking into it. He put me to sleep so he could fight them off instead of letting me fight at his side,” She explained, running her finger around the edge of her empty mug.

“So, you have yet to answer my question. What do you need from me? It’s possible that I could track down these demons or the devil that sent them after your city,” He began to ramble, scribbling in his notepad.

Kio took a deep breath and said, “I want you to help me get him back.” Adaar’s pen stopped scratching and he looked at her over the edge of the notebook for a moment.

“Kio, I only know of two spells with the capability to do that: Wish, and True Resurrection. Both of which are not available to me,” He explained. She shook her head, like a stubborn child arguing with their parent.

“There has to be another way,” She argued. He tapped his pen against the notepad for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip.

“The only way would be for me to open a gate to whatever plane his God is from and we go there in person to find his soul,” Adaar told her, taking a sip of his coffee. Kio stared at her empty mug for a moment and fell silent.

“What do you need in order to do that,” Kio asked at length. Adaar fixed her with the most neutral stare Kio thought she’d ever seen.

“Okay, I’ll entertain the idea,” The mage began, stirring his coffee with a spoon, “In order to start this, we need to either open a Planar Gate, or create one ourselves. I know of only one way to create a gate, and to my knowledge there are no easily accessible Gates left nearby,” He told her, pausing to take a sip of his coffee.

“So, if there was a Gate but it was just difficult to reach, could we use that,” Kio prodded when he took too long to continue. Adaar sighed as he pushed the glasses up his nose again, the light momentarily reflecting off them.

“Assuming that we could reach this Gate, then yes. I would only need to know the plane we were going too; I would need to know his God,” The mage explained as he finished off his coffee and stood.

“Come on, you can tell me about this plan of yours while I show you around Paav,” He said, holding the door for her. As Kio stepped through it, she found Garuda standing outside the shop, waiting next to the door. Adaar strolled past her as if it was completely normal for her to be there; She fell in line beside the mage as he led them towards a grand marketplace.

“So, what makes you think that I have a plan in the first place,” Kio asked, glancing over at Adaar curiously. He smirked as they passed through the market but didn’t look at her.

“Because you wouldn’t be talking all of this out without a plan you need me for. If you had no plan, then you wouldn’t still be here would you,” He let the question hang between them, not really expecting an answer. Kio had to admit that he wasn’t wrong.

“Do you know where the closest Gate is located then,” Kio asked one of her own. Adaar turned down a street and brought the group in front of what Kio thought was the largest building she’d ever seen.

“This is where we generate the power for the city, and many of the MTDC’s draw from the power we keep stored here,” He said waving to the complex.

“To answer your question however, yes I happen to know of one nearby but there’s a catch,” the mage said as he started walking down another street. He could almost feel Kio’s eyes burning a hole in the back of his head.

“It’s near The Hull, but to get there we would have to get past-”

“The pirates…” Kio finished for him, “Fuck.”


	2. The Girl Who Wouldn't Give Up

Kio readjusted the backpack she carried, trying to get used to its weight. Garuda stood beside her in the foyer of Adaar’s house as they waited for him to gather what he would need for the journey. Garuda seemed to notice her squirming and looked over at her.

“Kio is there something wrong,” The Eidolon asked, tilting her head curiously. Kio jumped and had to tilt her head back in order to look up at Garuda.

“Oh, uh sorry I’m just a little nervous,” She explained, “The last time I saw you two was when Adaar was trying to kill Jones and Nikos; I guess trust is just hard for me.” Kio decided to double check what she had in her pack, in case she had forgotten something.

As she was rummaging around in the pack her hand brushed across something rough. She frowned and pulled out a small, wolf-head emblem strung with a strip of leather. Her mouth fell open a little as she cradled the pendent in her hands.

“I thought that I left this in Kiotas,” She mumbled under her breath. The metal was cold to the touch and she ran her thumb over it for a moment, smiling at the memories that it brought back.

“Katas gave this to me after Kiotas officially became its own City-State. ‘The first of my paladins,’ he called me,” She told Garuda quietly, a tear rolling from her eye down her cheek. The Eidolon simply listened to her without interrupting, which Kio was grateful for.

“Adaar will find a way to help,” Garuda told her, “I am still learning about how humans talk and interact, but I know one thing for certain: my master doesn’t give up.” The Eidolon knelt beside her so Kio wouldn’t have to tilt her neck so much.

“He will find a way to get your lover back, or he will die trying,” She said, giving Kio a small smile. Instead of seeing relief Garuda saw Kio begin to snicker.

“Do you know what ‘lover’ means,” Kio asked, grinning lopsidedly. The Eidolon shook her head.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” Kio said, giggling again. Garuda simply tilted her head in confusion.

“I think I’ve got everything now,” The mage said as he walked into the room and threw the backpack onto his shoulders.

After one last check of the list to ensure that they hadn’t forgotten anything that they were going to need, Adaar locked the house and started leading them towards the docks. As they rounded a corner floating platforms came into view hovering above the buildings ahead of them, chained together like they might float away without them. Kio must have looked impressed because Adaar chuckled smugly to himself, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

“I helped design most of the Air Docks, they float because of me,” He said, not impressing Kio even a little.

They boarded one of the many tethered air ships, which Kio assumed were giant balloons with ships tied to them, even though Adaar told her there was more at work than that. The mage had led her to the front of the main deck where Kio was leaning over the railing admiring the city. He leaned against the railing beside her and sighed contently.

“Garuda, I must say we don’t travel as often as we used too,” He commented. The Eidolon nodded to him.

“We used to travel very much, but you seem happier now that your students are safe,” She said as she stretched her wings and folded them back in place.

“You know why didn’t we just fly with her,” Kio asked nodding towards Garuda. Adaar smiled before he answered.

“Because she couldn’t carry both of us and beat an airship to The Hull. This is just easier and doesn’t exhaust baby girl,” He explained. Kio’s mouth twisted, like she was confused about something he had said.

“Why do you call her that,” she finally settled on. She saw his armor crack a small amount in the form of a blush and nervous cough, with an extra glance away from her as bonus. Kio’s eyes narrowed and she nodded knowingly to him, while Garuda tilted her head in a question.

“I see, I see,” She said with fake intrigue, “So do you need a ladder or how does any of that-”

“Oh, look I think we’re taking off,” Adaar quickly interrupted her.

\----

Kio watched the landscape fly by from her seat below deck. She twisted a lock of hair between her fingers absentmindedly, her mind drifting to thoughts of Katas.

 _What if you cannot get him back,_ her doubt whispered. She shook her head violently.

 _Or worse, what if he isn’t himself once you have him,_ the anxiety continued. She closed her eyes and slapped both of her cheeks hard.

She felt cold.

“We should be landing soon, only about a day away from The Hull,” Adaar said, surprising Kio as he plopped into his seat suddenly.

“Great,” Kio deadpanned, a little of the melancholy seeping into her voice. The mage either didn’t notice or chose not to point it out, both of which Kio was grateful for.

\----

 _Commander Ataash,_ hissed a sloth demon as it dragged itself up to him. The man was kneeling over a body, his pale skin clashed with the black of his armor. He stood and glared at the demon for a moment with ember-colored eyes. His hair was short-cut and the color of ash, and the bones of his cheeks were high and pronounced.

“Report,” He said; his voice was deep and thrummed with notes of command.

 _It seems that she was here, but there is trace magics that say she was sent elsewhere,_ it responded. When Ataash simply raised one of his thin eyebrows the demon continued, _the magics lead to the city called Paav._

“I see… Leave,” Ataash responded curtly. The sloth demon sunk into the ground and vanished. Meanwhile all around him Peddleton Castle burned. He glanced down at the body once more and sneered before a sound snapped his gaze to the throne. Brik leaned heavily on the stone throne, using his left arm to keep hold of the throne, blood trailing down his right arm that still clutched his white sword despite the rest of the arm hanging limp. He noticed that Isabella wasn’t among the dead.

 _Good, at least Bella escaped. Hopefully she will be able to reach them in time,_ Brik thought to himself, locking his gaze back on the invader.

“I will… end you,” The king growled out, finding the strength to lunge at Ataash. He easily side-stepped the lunge and placed his foot in the middle of the king’s back.

“You lack control,” Ataash commented dryly, shoving Brik to his knees. He paced around the prone king, careful to keep just out of reach.

“Control that someone else could take,” He continued. Ataash held up his hand and dark-green magic flared to life there. Brik went rigid for a moment before going slack.

“Stand,” Ataash commanded. Brik stood, his expression one of pure rage.

“Now, take your sword and drive it into the queen,” He said as he stepped back and linked his hands behind him.

\----

_Two Days Later_

“So, this is where the two pirates are from,” Adaar asked, wrinkling his nose as they stood just inside the gates of The Hull. Two men came tumbling out of a building to their left, one of them breaking a bottle over the other’s head.

“I have to say that I imagined it differently,” Kio commented sarcastically, stepping to the side to avoid getting caught up in the brawl.

“Well now what do we have ‘ere?” The three of them noticed a man sauntering up. He was a merfolk dressed in sailor garb which was hardly surprising, and had a blue bandanna on his head, his hand resting on a sheathed cutlass at his hip.

“Anyone new to The Hull should know it’s dangerous,” He commented, “You should invest in some insurance, make sure no bad stuff starts ‘appening to ya.” Adaar raised an eyebrow.

“Now Charles, is that anyway to treat a new guest,” a familiar voice called out. Everyone turned to the source of the voice and found another pair of merfolk, one wearing similar clothing to Charles except the newcomer wore a very large captain’s hat. His hair was long and black, and his fins were ripped in several places. He also had a worn overcoat draped over his shoulders and sported a similarly worn cutlass. His companion stuck out like a sore thumb with his disheveled bright-orange hair. He also had a small seashell tied around his neck and several small scales scattered around his visage. Kio immediately recognized them as Davy Jones and Nikos.

“Jones they gotta pay just like all the rest. Besides, my little business isn’t hurting yours,” Charles argued back. Jones sauntered over in front of him and reached up to straighten the man’s collar.

“It ain’t, but I’m tellin’ ya to leave them alone,” He said, patting Charles on the shoulder. Kio saw Nikos roll his eyes.

“And I’m tellin’ you to-” Charles began but couldn’t finish. Jones, in one fluid motion, drew his cutlass and ran it through the other man, pausing to meet him in the eye.

“Ya should’ve listened to yer captain,” Jones said, disappointed. He yanked the blade free and Charles fell to the ground.

“My apologies you lot had to see that, he did like to harass the new folk though,” Jones said once he had cleaned his cutlass on Charles’ shirt. When he sheathed the blade, Kio tackled him in a tight hug.

“Glad tah see you too Lass, but yer crushing me lungs,” Jones squeaked as Adaar and Nikos met halfway.

“You still have that thing for birds I see,” Nikos began.

“And your mother still fucked a dragon,” Adaar responded. They both smiled and clasped hands.

\----

“So, what brings ye to our little slice of paradise,” Jones asked as he tossed his hat onto the desk and flopped down in his chair. Kio had to admit that his office was something to behold; The desk wasn’t a desk at all, it was a huge trunk with papers scattered over it and a rolling chair. Behind Jones there was a wall of glass windows that overlooked the town below. The office itself rested on the second floor of the local inn: The Sea and Gull. The samurai allowed herself a smirk at the name as she and Adaar took their seats.

Jones hoisted his feet onto the ‘desk’ and said, “I’ll be honest, I’m a might surprised to see you here, Lad.” He nodded towards Adaar and then to Garuda.

“You too, Lass. Sorry we don’t see many of your kind around ‘ere,” He smiled softly before spinning in his chair and began searching through a cabinet of bottles.

“Oh, the good stuff, Jones? You sure that they’re worth it,” Nikos teased.

“Truth be told, my name is probably worth more then you are,” Adaar responded with a smug grin. Jones spun back around and set a heavy bottle of glowing light-blue liquid on the desk.

“Hush now lad, they didn’t come here just to see our ugly mugs. Something’s happened hasn’t it,” Jones responded, suddenly very serious. Nikos dropped his teasing smile so fast it almost hit the floor. Adaar and Kio glanced at one another as Jones poured the alcohol into four small cups and handed them out. When Kio opened her mouth to explain the pirate silenced her by holding up his hand.

“Drink first, it’ll help,” He said. She shrugged and downed her shot. The thing with alcohol is that it tastes horrible. So, when Kio tasted something like warm strawberry-pie-that she had sampled at an inn once-as she drank the liquid, she was more then a little shocked. It must have shown on her face as Jones broke into a roaring laughter.

“Aye that never gets old. Relax Lass, it’s magical. This booze tastes like yer favorite thing in the world,” he explained after regaining his composure. After a moment the smile fell from the pirate’s face as he leaned forwards.

“Now down to business. I heard from me Eyes that yer city was sacked, by a rather impressive number of demons no less,” Jones trailed off as he looked at Kio for an explanation. The samurai sighed and set her empty shot glass on Jones’ desk.

“Three weeks ago, we started losing contact with our farthest outposts,” She began as she settled back into the chair, “At first it was just one, then two more dropped three days later. By the time Katas cleared a squad of paladins to investigate they were a little bit too dug in.” Nikos circled around them to stand behind Jones.

“We fought for the better part of the last week to hold outpost delta, which we lost regardless so fuck us I guess, and after delta fell there was a three-day period of silence,” she continued, meeting Jones’ eyes.

“The calm before the storm, I take it,” Adaar mused softly, almost to himself. Kio stiffly nodded. Adaar glanced back at Garuda for a moment before she nodded in response and left the office. Jones raised his eyebrow in silent question, to which the mage waved off dismissively.

“She’s keeping watch, patrolling I guess you’d call it. She’s our set of eyes in the sky if there’s danger coming,” He explained.

“Ye think there’s danger coming, lad,” Jones asked. Adaar shrugged a shoulder half-heartedly.

“It would be stupid of me to not expect it,” The mage responded as he leaned back in his chair, “please continue Kio, sorry for interrupting.” The samurai nodded to him.

“Smart,” Kio commented before picking up her story, “Katas was restless during those three days, he couldn’t sleep most of the time and when he did it was mostly nightmares,” her voice was laced with sorrow she couldn’t quite keep hidden as she spoke, and Jones’ lips slowly turned downward as she continued.

“When the main force finally did show up on our doorstep, we were about halfway to not being prepared for them at all. Katas told me to order the paladins and rangers into evacuation procedures and I went to meet him in front of the city once I was content that everyone was on their way out,” She recounted it so quietly the others almost had to strain to hear her. She didn’t even notice Adaar’s hand over her own until he squeezed gently; her grip on the armrest white-knuckled. She let her hands go slack and nodded her thanks.

“He used magic to put me to sleep; I’ve never seen him use the type of spell before so naturally I wasn’t expecting it. According to Johnson and James he ordered them to take me and the rest of the evacuated people to Peddleton and to keep me from returning,” She paused as her lips twisted up into a melancholy smile; it looked far too frail on her features.

“So, do either of you know who is leading the force,” Nikos asked while he riffled through a drawer stuffed with papers.

“We had nearly uncovered that when they attacked. At this point your guess is as good as mine,” Kio told them, shrugging slightly. Adaar hummed in thought as Nikos spread a large map of the region over the desk.

“Kio use this to mark the outposts they took,” Nikos asked, handing her a pen. She slowly took the pen and began marking where Kiotas’ outposts used to be. She then started crossing out the markings with X’s, creating a very deliberate path. The woman’s hand wavered as she moved to cross out Kiotas, a visible tremor shaking her small frame. Jones reached for the pen, but Kio pulled her hand away and met the pirate’s eyes. From where Nikos was standing, he could only see Jones’ reaction: whatever Jones had seen in her eyes did the trick; his hand fell back to the desk and after a single deep breath Kio crossed out Kiotas from the map. She closed her eyes and turned away from the map, crossing the room towards the door.

“Lass,” Jones called after her, bringing the woman to a hesitant halt. She heard him stand and the sound of his boots crossing the wooden boards over to her. She kept her back to him for over a minute, the air inside the office suddenly felt very heavy.

“Kio,” Jones added, the name coming off his lips sounded strange, foreign. It was enough to make the young woman turn and look at him. He put a hand on each of her shoulders until she would meet his eyes; her emerald-colored pleaded with his chocolate-brown. He pulled her into a tight hug and patted her back lightly.

“We’ll get your man back, ye have me word on that, lass,” Jones said, releasing her and turning to Nikos.

“Lad, go ahead and send word: ‘The Admiral needs his eyes back.’ Nikos raised an eyebrow at him skeptically. Adaar and Kio exchanged equally confused glances

“I thought you said you’d never use them again,” the sorcerer questioned, “besides, they creep me out.”

“Just send the word, will ye? We’re burning daylight here lad,” the pirate responded curtly but turned back around afterwards, “Sorry lad, I didn’t mean to snap at ye. But don’t ye think that dealing with them for a bit is worth seeing the lass get her love back.”

“I guess so, still doesn’t mean I have to like it,” The other merfolk mumbled under his breath.

“I’ll show them the thing,” Jones said to as he grabbed his hat and nodded a brief thanks to Nikos. Before they could leave there was an urgent banging on the office door.

“Belay that,” Jones shouted, putting on his hat and moving to answer it. As he turned the knob the form of a young woman fell into the room from the other side of the door. Jones managed to catch her before she hit the floor. Her charcoal-colored hair was frazzled and one or two twigs could even be seen tangled in her locks. She was covered in scratches and dried mud, a state that none of them had ever seen her in.

“Isabella,” Kio cried out in shock.

“Ataash,” the younger woman forced out before she fell unconscious.

\----

“It’s the name of my brother,” Adaar explained, once they had gotten Isabella some medical attention.

“So yer brother is the one that attacked Peddleton then,” Jones asked as he leaned against his desk. Adaar shrugged in response.

“Most likely. Although the last time we had talked was when I sealed him in the seven hells.” The mage scratched the back of his head, “I don’t know how he escaped or how he has control of so many demons, but he must be stopped.”

“You don’t know anything even though he’s your brother,” Nikos asked skeptically. Adaar glanced sideways at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Believe me, he is no one I would try and protect if that’s what you mean,” Adaar responded very matter-of-factly. Nikos shrugged and Jones turned and walked to the wall-sized window that overlooked the town.

“I never thought he’d return like this though,” Adaar began pacing a circle around the room, “Finding out where he will strike next _has_ to be our next move.” The others were staring at the mage with wide eyes.

“Uhm,” Nikos started, raising to point at Adaar’s face. The mage lifted a finger to his upper lip, the digit coming away crimson.

 _“Master”_ Garuda’s voice urgently surged through their telepathic link. Adaar bristled at the urgency in her voice.

 _“The demons got past me, I am sorry.”_ Adaar went wide eyed for a moment.

“Uh, lad,” Jones began as the mage was hastily rolling up his left sleeve. In the middle of his forearm there was a complex design seemingly tattooed into his skin. He slapped his other palm onto it frantically.

“Release!” The design began glowing light-blue, bright enough that the others had to shield their eyes. When it had faded Garuda was standing there, covered in cuts and blood. She fell to a knee as soon as the light was gone.

“What in the hells happened to her,” Jones demanded. Adaar rushed to her side, his hands slowly starting to glow green. Garuda nodded her thanks as the wounds closed from the healing magic.

“I was attacked, it seems that the demons were not content to wait,” The eidolon told them. Adaar felt the familiar tug of a message spell. He was pulled into a grey-landscape, the ground reflected the mage as if he was standing on the surface of water.

“Brother,” He said, standing and turning around, “It’s been too long.” Ataash stood across from him, his ember eyes held a dangerous glint.

“It has indeed, but imagine my surprise when my scouts found something that bore a striking resemblance to your pet, I just couldn’t resist roughing her up a little,” Ataash’s voice dripped with condescension and a little malice.

“If you want me to kill you let me say that you’re off to a fantastic start,” Adaar responded, but his usual cocky attitude lacked it’s cutting edge.

“I must say I’m surprised to find you here. Why are you helping that girl, anyways,” Ataash asked, raising a grey eyebrow quizzically. Adaar shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

“I was told to make some friends, and Kio is one of the few that didn’t end up dead after the first meeting,” He said, seeing the way Ataash went still at Kio’s name. The mage nodded, glancing at the reflection between his feet.

“Your turn, why are you targeting her?” Adaar could almost feel the sneer form on his brother’s lips.

“The reason matters not; I serve powers beyond you, now stand aside brother. I will not hesitate to slaughter you, just like when I slaughtered mother,” Ataash spat. Adaar chuckled lightly; when he looked back to the eldritch knight the light caught on his glasses.

“Then I shall do the same, brother,” Adaar responded, a sadistic grin creeping onto his lips. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers, breaking their connection. He came crashing back down into his body. As he shook the dizziness from his head there was a loud explosion from the other side of town, smoke rising from the main gate.

\----

“Clear a path ye flea-bitten bilge rats,”  Jones shouted as he pushed past the crowd that had gathered at the gate, the others in tow behind him. Nikos collided with the pirate’s back when he stopped suddenly, his mouth slightly open in shock as he stared out at the massive horde of demons. Adaar stepped up beside him, sketching something in his notebook.

“Kio, here,” He said urgently, tearing out the page and shoving it into the confused samurai's hands, “smear blood on it if you need help.” Garuda cleared a path through the crowd easily enough, crouching in front of Adaar with her back to the mage.

“Jones, take Nikos and Kio to the Gate,” Adaar said, placing a hand on Garuda’s back, “Any support you can give me would be appreciated.” Jones scoffed as he turned around to face the crowd.

“Who here among ye will let these land-legged apes take what’s ours,” Jones called out. He was met with silence at first and Adaar had started to worry before the sound of numerous swords being drawn rang out.

“Aye,” Someone in the crowd yelled back, “the winds on our side boys, that’s all we need!” Adaar heard the entire crowd let out a single battle cry, several pistols were even fired off into the air. He felt a hand land on his shoulder and turned to find Jones giving him a very even look.

“Lad, we both know that she’s gonna need you to open the Gate,” He said. Adaar almost looked like he was going to protest, but they both knew the pirate was right. The mage nodded, but his expression was clearly a worried one. Jones patted him on the shoulder and smiled.

“We’ve been through worse, just get that girl to the Gate, Lad,” Jones told him.

"No, I'm not going to leave you to fight that horde," Kio protested, "Losing one idiot is enough for me thanks." Jones smiled and winked over at her.

"Have a little faith, Miss Kio," the pirate said, drawing his pistol and turning to talk to his men.

“Okay,” Adaar said reluctantly as he turned back to Garuda, “Babygirl do you mind?” He trailed off.

“It would be unwise,” Garuda stopped herself, thinking, “Stupid, actually, if we didn’t.” Adaar smiled.

“Kio, climb aboard,” the mage called, climbing on Garuda’s back, taking care not to pinch her wings. Kio hesitantly climbed on and the trio launched into the air, Kio’s scream echoing across the valley.

Jones watched them go whistling at Garuda’s speed. He turned back to the line of demons and drew his own sword.

“Ye ready, Lad?”

“kagn wer kluchuduunic,” Nikos responded, his breath coming out in clouds and scales breaking out across the bridge of his nose. Jones roared with laughter.

“Aye, YOU HEARD THE LAD: HOIST THE COLORS,” He shouted, waving his sword forward and charging. The crowd of pirates surged forwards with him, cheering at the top of their lungs.

\----

It didn’t take long for Garuda to locate the Gate; it felt like a leash constantly being tugged on, and within ten minutes they landed in front of a stone archway surrounded by standing stones. Adaar nodded, seemingly satisfied.

“This is it,” Kio asked, doubt evident in her voice. The mage looked at Garuda who nodded her confirmation.

“It is, we just have to turn it on,” He told her, stepping up to it, “I will need to concentrate, and I have several questions I will need you to answer, Kio.” He was already rolling up his sleeves and didn’t see Kio mocking what he had said. Garuda saw it and smiled to herself.

"First of all I will need to know if Katas ever mentioned the god he followed to you," the mage asked flaring his magic and reaching out to the Gate.

"I think it was close to Rack he kah, or something like that," Kio responded with a shrug. Adaar's magic flared momentarily, almost as if to emphasize the surprise that the samurai saw flash across his features .

"Rakhakha," He asked, a slight amount of awe creeping into his voice, "That's a name I haven't heard in a long time." Kio raised an eyebrow in response.

"God of the eastern sands, but beyond that little is actually known about him. Even I was unable to find out much," Adaar told her, his frustration barely held in check. He saw her expression fall from the corner of his eye.

"It should not mean that he's any less difficult to find though," the mage tried, hoping she would regain some of the fire she normally had. Kio was silent for a moment before she locked him with an even stare.

"Why  _are_ you trying so hard," She asked, the question dragging Adaar's eyes from the Gate over to her, "Hell, my back up plan was to have you and Garuda kill me if you couldn't bring him back." Adaar lowered his head slightly.

"I've taken a lot of lives from this world, Kio," Adaar responded wistfully, so quietly that she had trouble hearing him, "and so much of it has been innocent life I've snuffed out." 

"This time I kind of wanted to do something for a friend, to give something back instead of take it away," The mage said, wincing as the magic in the Gate surged to life and began to hum beneath his fingers. Kio remained silent; words would only spoil the moment anyways. Instead, she laid her hand on his shoulder and gave it a thankful squeeze.

"There, it's open," Adaar announced, standing to wipe the sweat from his brow. 

As they turned to enter the Gate Adaar felt Garuda throw herself behind them as a bolt of  electricity connected with her, dissolving her into dust. Ataash stood outside the ring of stones, half his armor torn off and four deep claw marks trailing across his chest. Adaar turned, his expression very calm.

“Kio, go find Katas,” He said eerily calm. He rolled up his other sleeve and put his palm on a second tattoo, which lit up like the first one. When Kio lowered her hand she saw Garuda standing there, as Adaar removed his shirt.

“Fitting it comes to us, brother,” Ataash hissed out. Adaar was silent as he placed a hand on a third tattoo on his chest this time. Kio managed to watch despite the bright light, and saw Adaar take Garuda’s form. Her jaw nearly hit the ground.

“Kio go,” the Garuda on the right said. The one on the left glanced back at her and smirked.

“We will join you shortly, just have to take out this rubbish,” the words were in Garuda’s voice but the attitude was completely Adaar. Kio nodded but stopped before she entered the Gate.

“Adaar, thank you,” She said, diving into the Gate.

“Well, I wonder if this will make up for all the bad stuff I’ve done in my life,” Adaar wondered.

“Unlikely, Master,” Garuda answered as they surged towards Ataash.

 


End file.
